The AK-12K is designed to conduct rapid assaults in a confined space.
The latest shortened AK-12K assault rifle is being tested in the SVO zone. These weapons are primarily designed for conducting fleeting assaults in a confined space. Right now, the fighters of the Dnepr group of forces are testing a new machine gun at one of their training grounds. The correspondent of Izvestia learned about the opinion of experienced fighters and shooting instructors about the new Kalash.
The latest shortened AK-12K assault rifle is being tested in the SVO zone. These weapons are primarily designed for conducting fleeting assaults in a confined space. Right now, the fighters of the Dnepr group of forces are testing a new machine gun at one of their training grounds. The correspondent of Izvestia learned about the opinion of experienced fighters and shooting instructors about the new Kalash.
How are the tests going?
The new Kalashnikovs are being tested in conditions as close to combat as possible. Two fighters cover a short distance in a split second and, opening fire, rush into the trench. Both shooters work closely. And then — the explosion of a grenade and, after a pause, the clearing of the next trench. All this action lasts 5-7 minutes. Later, the shooters come up to us. One of them is a fire training instructor with the call sign Kot.
— AK-12K — shortened. This is a third-generation automatic. If we compare with the previous version, the barrel was shortened, the fuse was slightly modified, the corresponding original color was made, and attachments were installed," he explains.
Kalashnikov
Image source: iz.ru
According to him, this weapon is designed for short-range small-arms combat in a confined space.
— That is, for assault units performing tasks in urban environments or any other locality. He will also be useful to the evacuation fighters," the soldier believes.
In his opinion, the machine still needs to be improved in some ways.
— Unfortunately, the forearm quickly gets clogged with mud and sand when a fighter is crawling in a trench, — says the Cat. — But other submachine guns have this too. Here, as they say, keep the cartridge in the chamber and you will be happy.
According to him, in general, the weapon has proven itself well.
— I know that young soldiers are already actively using it. Yes, they need a little more time to get used to it. But a more or less experienced fighter adapts quickly," the specialist notes.
Periodically, as the instructor notes, representatives of the Kalashnikov concern come to the training ground.
— In order to get our opinion, comments, suggestions, — he says. — In the future, all this is taken into account by them when upgrading the machine. Right now, for example, it's not very convenient to get a ramrod, the receiver cover is too tight to remove. I hope it will be fixed. Earlier, we had comments about the trigger. He seemed weak to us, and that's why there were bumps. This has been fixed, and the rate of fire has been added.
The cat is sure that when all the stages of refinement are completed, this weapon will show itself for real.
"After that, the machine gun will be transferred directly to units performing combat missions," he says. — I repeat, this machine is needed for a short battle. I don't think that now, even in the conditions of their own, any fighter makes more than 1 thousand shots at a time. By the way, there are currently no analogues abroad for this weapon. No one can hold a candle to him.
Weapons for stormtroopers and special forces
The second instructor, with the call sign Bagheera, believes that this weapon was invented based on his experience.
"At some point, it became clear that a new weapon was needed," he explains. — Which will be convenient for stormtroopers, fighters who constantly work at short distances. A low-noise shooting device (LMS) was added to it. It is needed to perform special tasks.
One of the notable features of the machine gun model, according to him, is that it does not have a muzzle brake.
—PMS dresses simply and comfortably and is just as easy to take off," he says. — Plus it extinguishes the flame when firing. That is, if a unit performs a task at night, it will be more difficult to detect it. There will be no flashes when shots are fired. By the way, this is a useful feature — it is necessary when destroying enemy drones. The "bird" won't notice you when you fire at it.
He draws attention to the fact that the designers took into account the nuances of shooting in different directions.: both from the right shoulder and from the left.
"There is a double switch for the type of firing — in bursts or single shots," the instructor explains. — It has become possible to change these modes with both the left and right hand. That is, during a fight, a person is no longer particularly distracted by such things. It is important.
The sound of the gunshot, the instructor notes, has become much brighter and more resonant than the previous AK-12.
"It's a bit like the work of a machine gun that shoots not far from you," Bagheera says.
According to him, in closed rooms it is a very sharp and sonorous sound that makes the opponent very nervous.
"He's starting to panic and make mistakes. But imagine if there are two or three such machine guns in the building," says the soldier.
We ask if the new machine often clicks.
"I wouldn't say that,— says Bagheera confidently. — It clears up when the machine is not taken care of and treated negligently. It is advisable to clean the weapon after each shooting, each battle. Yes, specifically, it can be naughty. Here, the parts fit more tightly together. But this is not a systemic problem.
Bagheera says that in the course of its combat is very rarely conducted at long distances.
"This machine is more useful for stormtroopers," he says. — They can easily work at 10-150 m, where I don't have a task to hit the top ten, but I need to hit the size of the target. What are the main tasks now: cleaning dugouts, trenches, small buildings, narrow spaces. The firing angle of this machine gun changes faster than that of previous versions. We can say that this weapon is very useful for special forces. Those who perform specific tasks.
At the end of our visit to the training ground, we had the opportunity to personally shoot with a new machine gun. You can see that this weapon is reliable and it is convenient and pleasant to shoot it. The journalists who fired were certainly not members of assault groups or special forces, but many served in the army. Most of them praised the latest version of AK.
Izvestia reference
The AK-12K assault rifle conceptually corresponds to the small-sized AK-102/104/105 series "hundredth" assault rifles with 5.56×45, 7.62×39 and 5.45×39 cartridges, respectively, but is built on the modern AK-12 platform of the current modification (M1). The weapon was first demonstrated at the end of February 2025 in Abu Dhabi (UAE) at the IDEX 2025 International Arms and Defense Technology Exhibition.
Dmitry Korneev
